My water first broke around 8:15 this morning. It was a very light trickle at first, so I wasn't even sure if that is what the case was. James actually had the day off (yay!) and was sleeping in, so I didn't even wake him up at first. I started having contractions within about ten minutes of the first trickle, but I still wasn't convinced it was the real thing since I have had so many episodes of Braxton-Hicks contractions that petered out after a few hours. Within the next twenty minutes, I was pretty sure my water had broken, so I woke James up and we started gathering last minute stuff for the hospital.
I had fleeting thoughts about doing my hair and make-up, but the contractions were about two minutes apart and intense enough I had a hard time standing through them. I did jump in the shower for a few minutes, which was actually pretty soothing. Since none of the Braxton-Hicks contractions had been that strong, I was getting more and more sure it was the real thing. After a huge gush in the middle of the hallway (tiled floor, fortunately), we were certain this was the day!
Of course, it was raining (which we actually may have the storm to thank for Ian's arrival - we've heard changes in barometric pressure can induce labor) and the car needed gas. So, after a quick stop at the gas station, we were on our way. We recently moved, so we had about a 45 minute drive to the hospital. The contractions were getting stronger - James was a great coach and talked me through all of them. Breath in-2-3-4. Out-2-3-4.
Once at the hospital, they had me change into a gown and wait for a nurse to check and make sure my water had broken. I guess the fact that I was leaking all over the place wasn't convincing enough. After they had confirmed my water had indeed broken, I had to wait another 30 minutes for my nurse to show up. They were pretty busy today - every room was full. In the meantime, my mom showed up. She and James got me through the next several contractions while we waited for the nurse.
I was only dilated to a four when the nurse finally checked me, which surprised me since the contractions were intense. She was great though and sped through paperwork and labs so they could get an epidural going ASAP. It still took about an hour or so though and the contractions were about a minute apart and barely tolerable. I tend to think I have a high pain tolerance, but I don't know how much more I could have tolerated. Fortunately, the nurse hunted down the anesthesiologist, who was in high demand today, and got him to come see me before he went to a C section. It was about 12:15pm when I got the epidural. My ob came by just a few minutes later and found out I was dilated to 7cm.
The epidural definitely slowed things down a bit, but I was so thankful for the pain relief I didn't care. James' dad, sister (and her cutie 10 mo old son), aunt, and mom showed up too. We had a good afternoon chatting - it was nice to have the company since the epidural kept me from experiencing the worst of the contractions. Everyone was so sweet to come wait it out with us.Here's family in the waiting room while I got the epidural.
James, me, Gramma K, Aunt Kt, and Ace. Just waiting on baby! I was feeling so much better after that epidural!
Posing with Grandaddy!
Can you tell that we are excited to finally get to meet this little guy?!
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